Professional Development Opportunities for University Staff
In July of 2015 Tammy Key, Vanderbilt Organizational Effectiveness Consultant, visited the advisory council to gather feedback on the professional development needs of university staff. Some of the common themes were:
- Dealing with change: How can staff deal with changes at the university that affect their jobs and help others do the same?
- Conflict management: How can staff develop and leverage communication skills to handle conflicts in their departments?
- Empowerment: How can staff draw attention to important issues within their department and influence positive change?
- Organization and time management: How can staff optimize their time and handle multiple responsibilities efficiently?
- Work role clarity: How can staff overcome ambiguity when it comes to their role within their department and the roles of others?
After reviewing this feedback with her team, Pam Brown, Director of Organizational Effectiveness, spoke to the council at its April 2016 meeting to highlight both existing and upcoming professional development opportunities that address these needs.
The following are examples of courses currently available through the Learning Exchange:
- Workplace Civility
- Creating Focus and Stability
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Workshop
These new courses will be made available by the Fall of 2016:
- Communication Workshop
- Project Management
- Time and Priority Management
Brown also mentioned that her team strongly believes in a positive cascading effect from working with leaders. She said that if leaders can be impacted effectively than it makes things better for everybody. In addition to the Leadership Foundation courses — which cover hiring, managing, and performance reviews — more intensive workshops (such as Leading Teams Through Conflict) will be made available by the Fall of 2016.
“If we can impact leaders effectively than it makes things better for everybody.”
Fees for these courses are designed to cover materials and average $60.
To learn more please visit the following links:
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